In digital video broadcast systems it is desirable to provide a fast channel change mechanism to reduce the time it takes for a user to switch from one channel to another. Channel change time is usually very long, usually more than 10 seconds in mobile video broadcast applications.
The existing solutions to fast channel change use additional bits to provide a low resolution of the video that somehow can be displayed sooner than the normal video content. The existing solutions have drawback of wasting the low solution video bits, once the channel change is made. In addition, the existing solutions require changes to existing systems (i.e., no backward compatibility) to provide the fast channel change feature, and such changes will require new receivers to work in the new system.